Papa, Can You Hear Me?
by Freedom Tide
Summary: One-shot AU end of ROTJ because Luke needs closure after Anakin's death. Leia will be in this story and there will be a surprise twist at the end. This is a tear-jerker. All disclaimers are inside. Please read and review.


**AN** : OK everyone I'm back! I got this story idea the other night after watching ROTJ because I never have liked the end of the movie & never thought Luke got closure after the death of his father. Story idea is mine, characters are George Lucas', not sure who the song belongs to. Pleas read & review.

 **Papa, Can You Hear Me?**

Luke was sitting by the burnt remains of the funeral pyre while everyone was celebrating their victory. He was thinking about his father and how he had been redeemed. Luke had tried to save his father but the battle on the second Death Star was just too much and Anakin was too weakened from the battle. Luke had nearly died in the encounter when the Emperor had shot electricity at him but Anakin had killed the Emperor to save his son.

It all began the day I found  
That from my window I could only see  
A piece of sky  
I stepped outside and looked around  
I never dreamed it was so wide  
Or even half as high

"Luke, what's troubling you?" Leia asks as she

walks over to Luke and sits down next to him.

"I'm just thinking about Father. If I could have saved him since he was redeemed now we'll never get to know him." Luke answers mournfully.

Leia doesn't know what to say, but she remembers something that her adoptive father told her. "He will always be part of you. I know it hurts but time heals all wounds."

"I know but I just can't help thinking that I could have done something different and Father might have lived. If I had gotten us off the Death Star sooner or had helped him kill the Emperor that might have saved him." Luke says.

Papa, can you hear me?  
Papa, can you see me?  
Papa, can you find me  
In the night?

Leia looks down at the ground. "How can you just accept Darth Vader as your father?"

"He redeemed himself just before he died. When I found out I didn't accept it either but i knew there was good in Father."Luke answers

Leia just shakers her head in disbelief as she walks off. "I still don't accept it but I'll leave you alone for now."

Papa, are you near me?  
Papa, can you hear me?  
Papa, can you help me  
Not be frightened?

Luke continued to sit there thinking about how things could have been when he feels a presence in the Force. Looking up he seems a faintly glowing Force-ghost. The Force-ghost moves to site next to Luke on the log he's seated on.

Looking at the skies  
I seem to see a million eyes  
Which ones are yours?  
Where are you now  
That yesterday has waved goodbye  
And closed its doors?

"Father, I wish I had the chance to get to know you." Luke says to Anakin who appears to him as a Force-ghost.

"i know, Son. I wish I had been able to be with you as you grew up but I made my choice and had to live with the consequences. I'm proud of the fine young man and jedi you have become." Anakin replies.

The night is so much darker

The wind is so much colder  
The world I see is so much bigger  
Now that I'm alone

"Father, why did you turn to the Dark Side? I felt the good in you, the conflict when you took me before the Emperor, what happened? Luke asks with curiosity.

"I was trying to save your mother from dying in childbirth. I had dreamed that she would die in childbirth and I was convinced if I got more powerful I could save her. I had failed to save my own mother from the Sand People a few years earlier and I became desperate to become more powerful so I could protect those that I loved." Anakin answers remorsefully.

Can you hear me praying?  
Anything I'm saying?  
Even though the night is  
Filled with voices?

"My aunt and uncle never told me anything about my family that was informative. Who was my mother and what was she like. " questions Luke curiously.

"Your mother was Padme Amidala a former Queen and Senator from Naboo. I met her when I was nine and she was fourteen. I was living on Tatooine with my mother and her ship had mechanical trouble. That was when I first met Obi-Wan. I also started training as a jedi when I was nine. We were secretly married after the Clone Wars started and when she told me she was pregnant I started having nightmares about her dying in childbirth." reply Anakin sadly looking a Luke with moist eyes.

I remember everything you taught me  
Every book I've ever read  
Can all the words in all the books  
Help me to face what lies ahead?

"Son, you were raised by your aunt and uncle, was that Owen and Beru Lars? They did a wonderful job of raising you and Obi-Wan was wise to separate you and your sister to hide you." Anakin says.

"Living on Tatooine wasn't much to brag about but Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were good to me. I also made some good friends while growing up but I was glad to get off that rock. The Alliance was a whole new world and I made new friends there especially Leia and Han. Jedi training with Master Yoda was great and challenging also but satisfying. Master Yoda helped me hone my skills and become more centered and balanced as a jedi and I'm grateful for that because I used to be reckless. Looking back I'm surprised some of the stunts I pulled were even successful." Luke remembers with a soft smile.

The trees are so much taller  
The night feels so much smaller  
The moon is twice as lonely  
And the stars are half as bright

"How long have you known about your sister, Son?" Anakin asks.

"Just a few days since Master Yoda and Obi-Wan told me about her." Luke answered. "

"Is your sister it Princess Leia?" asks Anakin hopefully.

"Yes Leia is your daughter, my twin sister." Luke answers smiling softly.

"she looks so much like Padme, I don't know why I never noticed it before." admits Anakin.

"Probably because you weren't thinking about that at the time you met Leia, Father." Luke reassures Anakin.

"Your sister's never going to forgive me for all that I've done to her. I don't deserve her forgiveness. even if she was inclined to offer it." Anakin states.

"Father, you deserve to be forgiven since you have recognized the mistakes you made in your life and Leia will eventually come around and forgive and accept you. Right now she is still processing all of the new information about her family." Luke states with conviction.

Papa, how I love you  
Papa, how I need you  
Papa, how I miss you  
Kissing me good night

Just then Leia walks up to Luke and stops when she sees who is sitting beside Luke.

"Who are you?" asks Leia puzzled to see the Force-ghost that she doesn't recognize.

"Your father, Anakin Skywalker." Anakin replies calmly looking a Leia.

"My father was Bail Organa and he was killed by Darth Vader." retorts Leia hotly.

"I was Darth Vader. I'm profoundly sorry that I hurt you my own daughter. I hope in time you will forgive me, Leia." Anakin asks Leia.

"Leia, please think about it." Luke urges.

"Where you always evil, did you ever love anyone, have friends, family, or were Luke and I conceived from some horrible act?" Leia asks.

"I grew up with my mother on Tatooine where we were both slaves and when I was nine I met Obi-Wan and his Master who freed me but was unable to free my mother. I also met your mother Padme Amidala who was fourteen at the time. After leaving Tatooine I took part in that Battle of Naboo where was Queen at the time. Then I started my jedi training and wouldn't see Padme for ten more years, I also wouldn't see my mother for ten more years. Obi-Wan became my master. The next time I saw my mother she was near death and I was unable to save her, she died in my arms. That's where my journey to the Dark Side began. Shortly after that the Clone Wars started and Padme and i married in secret. At the time your mother was the senator from Naboo and I was fighting in the wars so we didn't see each other much. Obi-Wan was one of my closest friends at the time. When your mother told she was pregnant I started having nightmares about her dying in childbirth and was determined to save her. Unfortunately Palpatine used my desire to save your mother to turn me to the Dark Side." Anakin explains sadly.

I felt the most amazing things  
The things you can't imagine  
If you've never flown at all  
Though it's safer to stay on the ground  
Sometimes where danger lies  
There the sweetest of pleasures are found

Leia looks thoughtful but when she turns to Luke she doesn't look convinces. "Luke are you sure there's good in him? What made you accept him as your father?"

"Listening to the Force and being true to myself, I just decided to face up to my fears and do the right thing." Luke answered

Leia looks over at Anakin with a thoughtful look and takes a deep breath before speaking. "What was Mother like? You said that she was a queen and a senator? What did she look like?"

"She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. The first time I ever met her I asked her if she was an angel. You look a lot like her Leia. She supported many of the same things that you are fighting for now. I don't know how I missed the resemblance when I met you on the Death Star." Anakin answers.

No matter where I go  
There'll be memories that tug at my sleeve  
But there will also be  
Mortal question, yet mortal belief

Anakin looked at Leia with a sweet smile and asked, " "Has Han proposed to you yet?"

"Not yet. We just finished fighting a battle so we've been kind of busy and I was just reunited with Han a few weeks ago." Leia answers with a big smile.

"I'm really sorry about that using Han a bait to get to you Luke. So you were able to rescue Han safely? from Jabba?" asks Anakin.

"We got Han away from Jabba and Jabba was killed during the battle to free Han." Leia answers frowning remembering what she was wearing.

"Just make sure Han asks you to marry him like a proper gentleman, Leia." Anakin says with a smile.

Oh, tell me where  
Where is this someone who will turn to look at me  
And want to share  
My every sweet-imagined possibility

Luke, Leia & Anakin all look to where everyone is celebrating the victory with bonfires, fireworks, dancing, and cheering and of course music and drinking.

Anakin sighs wistfully and says "It's been a long time coming. The Empire really was an oppressive regime. I regret ever being a part of it."

"Don't dwell on on the past, it does no good to anyone. Think of the future and the part you played in ending the Empire." Luke responds.

"You helped bring down the Empire by killing the Emperor. Now democracy can return to the galaxy." Leia says. Anakin looks at her surprised.

The more I live, the more I learn  
The more I learn, the more I realize

The less I know

Each step I take  
Papa, I've a voice now!  
Each page I turn  
Papa, I've a choice now!  
Each mile I travel only means  
The more I have to go

Leia takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before looking at Anakin. "Father, I forgive you for everything you did to me. I just wish I had the chance to know you while I was growing up."

"My Leia I'm so proud of the young woman that you've grown into, you are so strong and have inherited many of your mother's qualities. I will always be with you." Anakin replies with tears in his eyes.

What's wrong with wanting more?  
If you can fly, then soar!  
With all there is, why settle for  
Just a piece of sky?

"The Force has only granted me a short time in this world and that time is almost up." Anakin says with regret and sorrow.

Leia looks up to see Han across the way an turns back to her father. "Father, I love you and I'm proud of you for believing in Luke to save you." Leia tells Anakin her voice choked with emotion.

"Father, will we ever see you again?" Luke asks sounding choked up.

"I'll always be with you in your heart and in the Force." Anakin answers.

"How can I go on without you, I just met you." Luke says voice full of grief. Leia puts her arm around Luke comfortingly.

"I will always be with you and Leia. I will always be in your heart and I will always live on in the Force." Anakin says comfortingly.

Papa, I can hear you!  
Papa, I can see you!  
Papa, I can feel you!  
Papa, watch me fly!

Luke and Leia both stand up when Anakin gets up when suddenly Anakin appears more solid. He turns to face the twins.

"Father?" asks Luke.

"A gift from the Force." replies Anakin as he pulls Luke and Leia into a tight embrace.

"I love both of you and am so proud of you both." Anakin says with tears in his eyes.

"I love you too, Father." Luke replies burying his wet face in Anakin's shoulder.

"I love you also, Father." Leia says in a choked voice snuggling into Anakin's shoulder.

Anakin holds the twins tightly for a minute before fading away.


End file.
